China and Iran: tyrants in retreat

Others must help the leaders create a facade of omnipotence and invincibility, and they ultimately have a say in how to preserve it.

Absolute power of the sort held by China's Xi Jinping and Iran's Ali Khamenei is always a bit of a con game: no one man can compel the obedience of millions of others by sheer physical force, writes Gwynne Dyer.Photographs courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Opinion

BY GWYNNE DYER

December 7, 2022

LONDON, U.K.—Retreat is one of the most difficult military operations for two reasons. One, there is generally no plan for retreat, and many moving parts can go wrong. Two, your opponent will grow in confidence and ambition as you pull back and reveal your weakness.

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